Na nevarnih tleh

Nevladna organizacija Global Witness je objavila poročilo o ubitih okoljskih aktivistih v letu 2015, ki je dostopno tukaj. V 16 državah so dokumentirali uboje 185 ljudi, kar pomeni, da so za ceno zaščite okolja vsak teden umrli več kot trije ljudje. Poročilo z naslovom On dangerous ground izpostavlja pohlepno izrabljanje naravnih dobrin, kot so les, palmovo olje in rudnine, na račun uničevanja narave. Še posebej prizadeti so ljudje, ki na teh območjih živijo, obrambo svojih domov pa v vedno več primerih plačajo s svojimi življenji. V poročilu so navedeni tudi primeri skrivnega sodelovanja držav s korporacijami, ki imajo pogostokrat skupne interese pri izrabi naravnih virov.

Največje število ubitih aktivistov v lanskem letu je dokumentiranih v Braziliji, na Filipinih in v Kolumbiji. Zakaj so prav te države najbolj na udaru, razloži Billy Kyte, eden izmed avtorjev omenjenega poročila:

More and more companies are moving on to new territories and coming into conflict with indigenous communities. So we are seeing a demand for natural resources fueling these conflicts. At the same time many of the crimes goes unpunished and this means more violence takes place because people know they can get away with it and thirdly this is the symptom of the wider context of repression against activism more generally. Many activists are being attacked all over the world for speaking out.

Dokazov, da bi oblasti preiskovale zločine, kaj šele storilce predale roki pravice, je bore malo. Prav nasprotno - poročilo opozarja na naraščajoč trend kriminalizacije aktivistov, ki se pojavlja predvsem v afriških državah. Tam se oblasti pogosto poslužujejo diskreditacij aktivistov zaradi domnevnega zaviranja razvoja. V mnogih primerih multinacionalke za dosego svojih ciljev najemajo tudi paravojaške skupine in varnostne službe. Na kakšen način delujejo te, razloži Kyte:

Yes, paramilitary groups mainly in Columbia and the Philippines are factor in the internal armed conflict in those countries so they are often used at the behest of mining companies as well as the national army, militaries in those countries. So good examples in the Philippines is the killing of the father, grandfather and schoolteacher of Michelle Campos and then her people the Lumad had to flee from their villages after public executions of these three people by the paramilitary groups. And these groups were identified, there were eyewitnesses to the killings, thus, you know, later they were seen drinking with the philippine army members. So this is a good example of the collision between state and the corporate interest.

Države, v katerih so uboji aktivistov najpogostejši, so večinoma odvisne od izvoza naravnih dobrin, prav zato je naslavljanje in razreševanje te problematike težko izvedljivo. Kateri gospodarski sektorji terjajo največ žrtev, navede Kyte:

Killings linked to mining were the biggest driver of killings last year with 42 people killed. Many of these took place in Peru and Philippines. Also big dam projects were linked to killings as well as agribusiness such as palm oil and large plantations.

Brazilija se ponaša z naslovom neslavne rekorderke po številu ubitih okoljskih aktivistov, med leti 2010 in 2015 je bilo teh več kot 200. Podrobneje nam situacijo v tej južnoameriški državi objasni Kyte:

So Brazil saw its record year in killings of environmental activists with 50 people killed in the last year. Many of these took place in the Amazon region at the agriculture frontier. So we are seeing a push into virgin rainforest from big agro companies and the legal lobbies and that’s coming into conflict with local communities.

Največji izvozni produkt Braziliji sicer predstavlja les - predvsem tikov in mahagonijev ter ebenovina, večina izvoza pa roma na evropski in ameriški trg ter na Kitajsko. Poročilo navaja, da so podjetja za predelavo lesa vzpostavila na tisoče območij nezakonitega izsekavanja gozda, kjer kriminalne združbe po ukazih teh podjetij in koruptivnih oblasti terorizirajo lokalno prebivalstvo.

Podobne zgodbe prihajajo s Filipinov, kjer skušnjavo multinacionalkam predstavljajo rudna bogastva, kot so zlato, nikelj in premog. V poročilu je tako opisana zgodba pripadnice ljudstva Lumadov Michelle Campos, katere očeta in dedka je zaradi obrambe svoje zemlje obglavila paravojaška skupina, sicer znani morilci pa niso bili nikoli kaznovani.

Tovrstni napadi in nasilje nad okoljskimi aktivisti niso nič novega. V prejšnih desetletjih so se odmevne zgodbe odvijale v Nigeriji, kjer nafto črpa multinacionalka Royal Dutch Shell, nič bolje pa se ni godilo zaščitnikom amazonskega pragozda v Braziliji. Kar pa je zaskrbljujoče je porast tovrstnega nasilja, zaključi Kyte.

We are seeing companies increasingly moving into new areas rich in resources and they are coming into conflict with people who live there. We are also seeing people getting away with murder, so impunity increases and that emboldens to trying to commit even more violence. And lastly we have to see that in the context of wider crackdown on activism ... all over the world.

OFFsajd je pripravila vajenka Sara.